Chicago Bulls vs Houston Rockets Picks, Prediction, Odds, and Line Movement for Tuesday January 13 2026

Interconference NBA action is tipping off on Tuesday evening, and we have a Chicago Bulls vs Houston Rockets prediction locked and loaded for you. Chicago comes in off a 125-107 home win over Dallas to move to 18-20 on the year. Houston is off a 111-98 road loss to Sacramento, which puts them at 22-14 on the year. The Rockets have won the last three games in this series. Read on to see our Bulls vs Rockets prediction.

Need some winners in the NBA? Check out our NBA Free picks and beat the books!

Bulls Rip The Mavs At Home

Chicago finally snapped its three‑game skid with a 125–107 win over Dallas, a night where they never trailed and looked far more like the team that opened the season with pace and balance. Seven players hit double figures, led by Coby White’s 22 points and Ayo Dosunmu’s 20 off the bench, and the Bulls absolutely shredded the Mavericks in transition with a 38–8 fast‑break advantage. They shot 51.5% from the field and controlled the glass well enough to keep Dallas from ever making a real push. At 18–20, Chicago’s offensive profile remains the strength: 117.3 points per game, 47.3% shooting, and top‑six rebounding numbers. The defensive side is still the concern — 120.8 points allowed, opponents hitting 47.3%, and too many clean looks from deep — but Saturday was at least a reminder of how good they can look when they dictate tempo.

Heading into Houston, the keys are pretty straightforward: keep the ball moving, win the possession battle, and avoid the defensive lapses that have buried them in recent losses. The Rockets play with energy at home and can punish teams that get loose with the ball, so Chicago’s ability to stay organized in the halfcourt matters. White’s efficiency, Vucevic’s interior presence, and the bench production that carried them against Dallas all need to travel. If the Bulls can control pace the way they did Saturday, rebound at their usual level, and avoid giving Houston clean perimeter looks, they’re built to give themselves a real shot on the road.

The Houston Offense Is Struggling

Houston rolls into Tuesday night looking nothing like the team that spent the first two months bullying opponents on the glass and leaning on one of the league’s most efficient offenses. Their 111–98 loss in Sacramento was another reminder of how far off their rhythm they’ve drifted, dropping their third straight and fourth in five. Even with Alperen Şengün back in the lineup, they couldn’t generate enough consistent offense, shooting just 42.9% from the field and a brutal 7-for-30 from deep. Amen Thompson’s 31-point, 13-rebound burst kept them afloat for stretches, but Houston’s fourth-quarter fade—outscored 33–22—continued a troubling trend for a team that has averaged only 101.8 points over its last five games. For a group that ranks top-10 in scoring on the season and sits No. 1 in total rebounding, the recent dip in energy and execution has been glaring.

The Rockets still have the statistical backbone of a contender—117.9 points per game, 48.1% shooting, 37.2% from three, and the league’s best rebounding profile—but the effort and sharpness that once defined them haven’t traveled during this skid. Their defense remains top-tier at 110.8 points allowed per game, yet even that hasn’t been enough to cover for the offensive drought. The key against Chicago is simple: rediscover their physical identity. That means dominating the glass the way they usually do, getting Şengün touches early to stabilize the halfcourt offense, and finding some confidence from deep after shooting just 23.3% from three over the last five games. If Houston can clean up the turnovers, win the effort categories, and avoid another late-game collapse, they’ll finally look like the team that opened the season 22–11 instead of the one searching for answers on every road trip.

Chicago Bulls vs Houston Rockets Pick

Bulls vs Rockets Spread Pick

• Houston -13 (4 Units)

Houston -13 is exactly the kind of spot where the market sometimes overreacts to a losing streak without accounting for where those losses happened. All three came on the road, and this team has been a completely different animal at home — 11–2, elite energy, elite rebounding, and far more efficient shooting. Their defense tightens up in their own building, and the offense, even during this slump, has consistently looked sharper at home than anywhere else. Chicago, meanwhile, is coming off a feel‑good win but still has major defensive issues, giving up 120.8 points per game and struggling to defend the three or keep teams off the glass — two areas where Houston usually punishes opponents. If the Rockets get anything close to their normal home rhythm, especially early touches for Şengün and cleaner perimeter shooting, this sets up as a bounce‑back game where they can finally flex again and win by margin.

Bulls vs Rockets Over/Under Pick

• Over 224.5 (5 Units)

The Over 224.5 makes plenty of sense because this matchup has all the ingredients for a pace‑friendly, efficiency‑friendly game even with Houston’s recent scoring slump. Chicago’s defense is exactly the kind of unit that helps a struggling offense snap back into rhythm — they’re giving up 120.8 points per game, allowing opponents to shoot 47.3%, and they’ve been especially vulnerable in transition and at the rim. Houston, even during this three‑game slide, is still a top‑10 offense on the season with strong shooting metrics across the board, and they tend to look dramatically better at home, where they’re 11–2 and play with far more energy. On the other side, the Bulls have quietly been scoring well for weeks, averaging 117.3 per game, shooting 47.3%, and getting consistent production from multiple spots in the rotation. Add in the fact that this series has been an Over machine — 9‑1 to the Over in the last 10 meetings — and you’ve got a matchup where both teams should find clean looks, pace should stay elevated, and the number is reachable even if Houston isn’t fully back to its early‑season form.